A wet Thursday

Oxford City Council
Today I’ll be catching up with Henry in Oxford, dodging the rain in a café in Marston or Headington.

We’ve been instructed to record data about all the trees on housing land, communal trees (which is quite a common request) and those trees in tenants’ gardens. Oxford Homes have taken the view that they want to know what is where so that they can, if necessary, take preventative action to stop the risk of a tree damaging property. Damage might be caused by branches hitting the housing stock or by expanding roots lifting paths or patios or damaging drains.

We have yet to move on to the greater part of the project, which is to be to capture data about all the trees in the parks and open spaces of the city.

To help us we are using a MobileMapper CX – a hand-held data logger that is GPS enabled, so it knows where it is – and DigiTerra Explorer software – a simple package that allows us to record all sorts of attributes, pick lists that have been designed to suit our client’s needs.

By capturing the records electronically we can upload client ready data straight to the client’s server and into their database so that their records are as contemporary as possible.


Expressions of Interest
I have submitted an Expression of Interest for a number of interesting sounding research projects, a new area of activity for me, and I wait anxiously to see if I will be invited to the next stage of the process. Quite reasonably clients are looking for suitable experience, but without the first instruction I will not be able to gain that experience, and so it really is chicken and egg situation for me.

One particular project, which will result in best practice for the retention of green infrastructure in towns, is of particularly special interest to me because of the decade that I spent in Milton Keynes, from 1985 to 1996, helping to manage the landscape of the newly emerging city. The team was lead by Rai Darke, a far-sighted and driven man (who hates the limelight!), and who has helped to shape my thinking. We all assumed that the work we did everyday was common place, it’s only years later that I now realise how far-sighted Rai was.

Another project seems to refer to a literature review of the documented history of a particular landscape, which will inform the implementation of a new landscape plan for the area. Again, historic landscapes is not “my bag” but I know people who would be interested – if I can secure a place on the tender list when others can’t then perhaps the client will be able to get the body of work they need through the procurement exercise.

The third project will require me to act as a focal point, bringing together the demand and supply sides in a local woodland economy. The measures that will be used to determine the success of the project are hard-nosed commercial – how many start-up businesses have been created and so on, so it’s a really good pragmatic approach to what is essentially an economic project.

So, all these seem to presume an ability to communicate, not necessarily an ability as an arboriculturist” – sounds OK to me!

Well, another day and another opportunity – none have yet been converted into actual work though since we won the contract to survey the trees Oxford City Council’s parks, open spaces and housing areas. Henry is out there with his MobileMapper and DigiTerra software recording the various attributes and then uploading the information to the Council’s server.

To date this year I’ve expressed interest in 61 enquiries, some were “never wozzers” to quote John Le Carre, and some have been converted in to genuinely interesting projects where I have learned as I have advised my client.

The comparison with this time last year is interesting – seemingly I’d had 68 enquiries by then but one of those, a local PCT, generated a number of separate pieces of consultancy work – tree risk management plans as well as BS5837 surveys on development sites.

The enquiries this year, and particularly at the end of this year, have had more of a “research” flavour –
· CIRIA have published an opportunity to produce “A guide for long lived large trees and other green infrastructure in urban environments”
· The National Forest are seeking support to increase the demand for woodland products and services, and
· The Westonbirt Arboretum are looking for help to restore pleasure gardens, parkland, built landscape features and the collection if historic trees and shrubs within a Grade 1 listed landscape

I’m not saying that I personally can do all three but I know people who can, and they might need someone like Parkwood Consultancy Services to back them if they are to make an offer, so the role is sometimes akin to that of marriage broker.

I’m also trying to find the time to support the Arboricultural Association as they seek to provide good, practical guidance on how to plant a tree in time for the BBC’s Breathing Places Tree O’clock campaign – you may be surprised that something that would appear to be so simple, like planting a tree, can be got so badly wrong on TV! However, I may be spoilt because I was in great company a few weeks ago planting trees at Kew Gardens with their own Mr Tree, Tony Kirkham. The Association had been given three lovely trees by Henry Girling that were to be presented to Kew to mark their 250th anniversary, the story is on the PCS web site in full.

More soon, hopefully to tell you about a fantastic win!

Welcome

Welcome to my first blog - I'm not sure of the protocol, but that's never stopped me before.

I am the Head of Arboriculture for Parkwood Consultancy Services specialising in hazard tree evaluation and risk assessment, woodland management, tree and woodland ecology, and the interactions between trees and the built form.

I am also responsible for tendering for new business and then implementing and project managing a wide range of instructions, including their quality assurance, from:

1. individual tree inspections and large-scale tree inventory surveys

2. development site tree surveys to BS5837:2005

3. development site EPS surveys and EPS mitigation strategies

4. tree risk management strategies and plans

5. green infrastructure development plans

6. contract and project management

I have filled the role of contractor, custodian, client, consultant and charity manager, and have dealt with policy issues with both industry regulators and government departments. I was the Director of Arboriculture for Glendale Countryside until December 2007, a board level appointment with full operational responsibility for a tree care business with a turnover of around £3M. Prior to joining Glendale I had been

1. the first Technical Director appointed by the Arboricultural Association,

2. part of an innovative team in Milton Keynes that oversaw the rapid development of the green infrastructure surrounding the New City, and

3. in 1982 I started my professional career as Tree Officer to Northampton Borough Council.

I'm currently involved in a providing a surveying service for Oxford City Council through my trusted colleague Henry Keays and am involved in negotiations with a number of potential clients for tree advice, in a variety of formats.

More in due course!

Jonathan